Pics New Lowther "Alfredo" horn using CNC'd Birch Ply

[atilsley]

Looking forward to starting this exciting new project, modernising the Alfredo design. (Alf Lepp (RIP) was the designer, and the plans are in the public domain.)

The unit is approx 1150mm tall x 580mm deep.

It should be weighty given the solid sections of CNC'd ply.

Cues taken from recent Tang Band BLF project with exposed ply....plus my C-Horn.

I'll also be including a new Lowther baffle 'ring' which is machined in MDF, which was tricky to create as Lowther uses an off-circle shape.

Driver of choice, PM7A (Alnico).

Andrew

 

[atilsley]

Euro Birch ply machined today...24mm for internal slices, and 18mm for the sides.

 

[thunk303]

Holy Cow! Can't wait to see this.

Ps. I'm in Eltham, Melbourne. Just in case you don't like em for some odd reason.

 

[atilsley]

Thanks Thunk.

Glued up the main sections yesterday and today...they look very cool up close. And HEAVY.

Note the Lowther CNC'd baffle ring I designed. This will be gloss black poly.

 

[atilsley]

One unit 90% sanded today...it's nice working with ply and power tools. Very therapeutic.

 

[mbrennwa]

Glued up the main sections yesterday and today

Looks very cool! What's the trick to get everything stacked up straight?

 

[atilsley]

Looks very cool! What's the trick to get everything stacked up straight?

Using 12mm Oak dowels into the CNC'd holes. Easy. Same as this mini BLH horn I build for 4 inch drivers.

 

[giantstairs]

These look great!

 

[atilsley]

Looks very cool! What's the trick to get everything stacked up straight?

Or same as Carfrae Little Big Horn and the LBH "Lite". One of the most advanced flat pack kits available.

 

[atilsley]

Mostly sanded....brace added with Oak hardwood trim on edges, dampening added to 1/3 of horn.

New CNC'd Lowther driver frame surround in MDF and gloss black. Makes for a professional look...should contrast nicely to the exposed Birch. Bought Scandinavian oil with a Teak proof tint.

 

[pcgab]

Those are looking great, I can't wait to see the finished product, and read your listening impressions.

 

[atilsley]

Thanks PCGAB

Second panels added, sanding begins.

 

[atilsley]

My final pic, showing the gloss black Lowther surround.


Spiked feet have been added (not seen in pic).


Tinted Scandinavian oil appled, plus a wax polish.


Next, testing the Lowther.

 

[faithintruth]

Hey I hope the Alfredos sound good. I see you used the plans I made from the originals. Credit goes to Brian Lafrance of Ontario for the CAD drawing using dinensions and angles I extrapolated. The curved version looks cool. How does it sound? Damping?

 

[atilsley]

Hey I hope the Alfredos sound good. I see you used the plans I made from the originals. Credit goes to Brian Lafrance of Ontario for the CAD drawing using dinensions and angles I extrapolated. The curved version looks cool. How does it sound? Damping?

Thanks, and credit to you and your colleague for this design.

I have not heard them yet, though my friend wrote a quick update below.

For dampening, 1/4 inch denim material to angled panel in chamber, then first 1/3 of the horn.

Comment from friend:


Set them up last night to ensure everything was working ok. This is how it looks but still work to do with the final locations and finishing touches. They integrate well into the living room as you can see from the picture. I will try them with and without the baffle ring.

Warmed them up as per John’s requirements and listened for 10 minutes or so. They sound very ‘new’ and tight as expected but more importantly no sign of any Lowther shout or honkey mid-range colouration. Actually I couldn’t pick any specific ‘horn’ characteristics. Very solid sound, pin point imaging beyond the speakers straight out of the box and generally a very flat response. The wow for me was how smooth they are. There is no harshness about them at all. I will give them a good run over the next couple of weeks. As mentioned yesterday you are more than welcome to visit and have a listen when you get back. They will have a few hours on them by then.

 

[faithintruth]

Hi Atilsley. No doubt you'll have to play with damping....maybe a little more the we did.Those curves act less like a low pass than more abrupt angles do. I have heard that this cabinet is excellent for lowther. The Snindo exampes on line certainly seem to indicate the musicality. I'm still interested to hear what you think.

 

[soundsmith]

Atisley, like your technique of CNC layers and dowelling. Nicely put together.

Questions please:

Why do yo need a mounting plate for the Lowthers? Why not fix directly to the baffle?

Is the best driver the 7A?

Any body considered/tried a supertweeter with their Alfredo's.

Thanks to everyone that has contributed with plans/photos etc. It has been an interesting read and a loudspeaker I've got on my list to build in the future. In terms of sound quality how does it compare?

Cheers

Robert

 

[sgb]

Sorry to dig up an old-ish thread......but after reading the few Alfredo Horn build threads, I'm absolutely hooked!

Would @atilsley by any chance still have the CAD file of it, so I can try to build my own using the same layered approach.

Many thanks.

Billy

 

[fuxis]

I would love to build Alfredo Horns. Maybe someone knows where I can get/buy the CAD plans to build these?

 

[pelanj]

Contact atilsley via PM. I almost bought his plans for the Yuichi horn - but I found out the drivers I have are not ideal for it and the ideal ones would cost too much to buy in near future.